College football Week 12 – A colossal Big Ten East matchup, consequential conference clashes and more

Michigan State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton begins each game plan by studying the opposing offense’s explosive plays.

“It took a little bit more time this week,” Hazelton told ESPN.

Hazelton’s defense on Saturday faces an Ohio State offense that leads the nation in yards per play (8.03), scoring (46.3 points per game) and total yards (550.4 yards per game). The Buckeyes have 93 plays of 20 yards or longer, including 13 or more by four different players — wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Emeka Egbuka, and running back TreVeyon Henderson. They come off arguably their best offensive performance of the season, tallying 59 points, 624 yards and eight touchdowns on their first 10 possessions against Purdue, the only team to beat No. 7 Michigan State.

The Michigan State-Ohio State showdown essentially comes down to whether the Spartans can limit the opposition enough to allow their own offense, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Kenneth Walker III, to deliver.

Hazelton’s plan focuses first on Ohio State’s ground game, which has gashed defenses with stretch runs. The next step is preventing over-the-top passes, without devoting too many resources to one Buckeyes receiver.

“You don’t want to get the safeties too close in there,” Hazelton said. “So, how are you going to play single-high [safety]? How do you want to play your corners? What can you do to stop the run? If we can do it with less guys in the box, we’ll try to do that and stay with the shell. So, one is stop the run. Two is creating your umbrella over the top, and when can you bail? When can you play looser?

“Three is, you’ve got to do a great job, once they do throw the ball underneath, of working your leverage and rallying and tackling, so you can limit those in front of you.”

MSU’s injury situation on defense is worth monitoring, as starting linebacker Quavaris Crouch and reserve cornerback Chuck Brantley missed last week’s game against Maryland. Hazelton said the…